New 2013 Nissan LEAF A Big Hit, Over 1,900 Sold In March

It Looks Like More Than A Few Plug-In Buyers “Chose” The Nissan LEAF In March

Even though the official March sales numbers are not released until Monday, it looks like Nissan could not help but let the good news out of the bag at the New York Auto Show today.

Nissan LEAF sales are back on track. In a big way.

Top Of The Line SL Trim – 2013 Nissan LEAF

For the first two months of this year, with 2012 inventory of the LEAF running out, and while still waiting on US-made 2013 model year LEAF production to start shipping from Smyrna, TN, Nissan only managed to sell 1,303 electric cars for both January and February combined (Jan-650, Feb-653).

Now, with 2013 LEAFs filling inventories across the country (although the company says it will still take until the end of April to fully re-stock), Nissan’s José Muñoz, who is Senior VP of sales and marketing, says that “over 1,900” LEAFs will be sold by month’s end.

Amazing what simply lowering the entry level price by a mere $6,400 can do for sales. The 2013 Nissan LEAF now starts at $28,800, with nationally advertised leases starting at $199/month.

While the exact final number of LEAFs sold won’t be know until next week, anything more than 1,700 units sold would represent Nissan’s best effort in the US to date. Since the EV’s debut, Nissan has sold 57,000 LEAFs worldwide.

Interesting. The primary reason I didn’t get a Volt is – Internal Combustion Engine. I don’t need it, I don’t want it, and now I don’t have to deal with maintaining it!

As far as “too low”, I personally prefer lower cars. I hate how high the Leaf sits, and how much excessive headroom there is. I cry on the inside to think of how much less drag it could have had. (Although I do appreciate the ground clearance when I have to drive through a foot of snow…)

I know your pain especially when the GM dealer calls saying your due for an oil change (for our Cruze) and it’s $70 including tire rotation, plus you can upgrade to synthetic oil for a total of $170, ouch!

I keep hoping to see Chevy produce a BEV in the form of say a Chevy Cruze shape with 100-mile range (true 100 mile using about 28-32kWh). The Leaf is just about right but the looks of it are just outside the bounds of acceptable. A Cruze or other basic four-door with electric only range would be my preference. The Volt will have to do for me for now.

At $18,800 the “lowest cost of total ownership” which the media gets obsessed with, starts to make sense for a lot of people. Me, I’d happily pay significantly more for electric propulsion simply for how nice it is to drive, and for all the items it doesn’t need.

One has to wonder what the new Leaf will do to the affordable BEV competition in the US. Looks like the Focus EV is really out. The i3 will be expensive. The old MiEV is out and the new one not here yet. The Fit EV, 500 EV, Smart forTwo ED are extremely limited and iQs are nowhere to be found. Almost everyone else is making a PHEVs.

Nice! I am sure the biggest seller is the SV or SL, since the S keeps you on the slow 3.3 charger and Carwings for remote access to your car is not even available. By the time you upgrade just for the 6.6 charger, the SV is the better option. But the $28k price is a nice draw to get consumers in the dealership, along with the $6,400 price drop.

It looks full EV sales for March could be close to 5,000 with plug-in hybrid at about 4,000.

I just bought a new 2013 and traded in my 2011. The Leaf is a very enjoyable car to drive and the new model has some nice improvements. I spend 80% less per mile to charge compared to the cost of gasoline. The current price point puts the car in competition with a host of compact cars– I paid less for the Leaf than I would have for a similar Sentra. (Of course this is due to the federal tax credit and that Washington state waves the sales tax on EV’s). I’m not sure how well these will sell when the tax credit phases out, I suppose that depends on whether they can reduce the cost of the batteries. It would be nice if the Volt would lower their entry price, the more EV’s and Plug-In Hybrids, the better!